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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: foot · mouse · fine · bat · wind · date · clip · mark

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — all right
  4. wind — moving air
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. clip — a video
  8. foot — a measure
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — for paper
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. mark — a grade
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. date — the fruit
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. mark — a trace
  24. mouse — for a computer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com